In a major relief for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quashed criminal defamation proceedings filed against him over the “40% commission government” remark made during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav, while allowing Gandhi’s petition, observed that continuing the proceedings would amount to an abuse of the legal process. The court ruled that the allegations fell within the ambit of political criticism protected under the Constitution and ordered that proceedings against Rahul Gandhi be set aside.
The case was filed by BJP leader Keshav Prasad in connection with Congress advertisements published during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election campaign. The advertisements accused the then BJP-led state government of taking up to 40% commission from contractors in public works projects, describing it as a “corruption rate card.”
Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar were also named in the complaint. They had earlier been granted bail by a magistrate court in June 2024.
In his petition before the High Court, Rahul Gandhi argued that no specific post or material was directly attributable to him personally. The court accepted the contention and held that such campaign slogans constituted political speech.
The controversy dates back to the 2023 Karnataka election campaign, when the Congress party made alleged corruption under the BJP government a central poll issue. The BJP had termed the advertisements defamatory and damaging to the reputation of party leaders, including then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The High Court’s ruling is seen as a significant legal and political relief for Rahul Gandhi, who currently serves as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. While the BJP has not issued an official statement yet, party sources indicated that the verdict would be reviewed before deciding on further legal steps.
